"The door is closing," Fatih Birol, the IEA's chief economist, told the Guardian. "I am very worried - if we don't change direction now on how we use energy, we will end up beyond what scientists tell us is the minimum [for safety].
“The door will be closed forever."
The World Energy Outlook report, which looks at the future of the planet's energy system over the next 25 years, revealed that urgent investment in renewable power and energy efficiency is needed to keep global temperature gains at 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit, a crucial ceiling set by climate scientists.
"After 2017, we will lose the chance to limit the temperature increase to [3.6 degrees]," Birol told the Associated Press.
Even by cautious estimates, demand for global energy is set to jump by a third by 2035, spurred by China and other emerging economies, the report said. Read the full report here.
Source: Philip Caulfield, NY Daily News.
